FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 13, 2001 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 CRITIC OF HISTORY TEXTBOOKS TO SPEAK AT DRAKE FEB. 22 James W. Loewen, author of "Lies My Teacher Told Me," will give the Hawley Foundation Lecture at Drake University on Thursday, Feb. 22. His lecture, titled "What's Wrong with History Class?" will start at 8 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main, 26th Street and University Avenue. The event is free and open to the public. Loewen, a sociology professor at the University of Vermont, spent two years at the Smithsonian Institution studying the 12 most commonly used high school level American history textbooks. He found that the textbooks consistently omit parts of American history. He also found that what the textbooks do cover is couched in a glossy simplistic manner – a manner that perpetuates social and political biases. The authors of American history textbooks, Loewen found, are overwhelmingly more concerned with supporting the status quo than with telling history. The recent release of the National Service Standards for the United States has rekindled the debate over what we teach our children. Loewen's lecture will feature both an in-depth look at the shortcomings of history education in America, and a look toward the future. Loewen's research led him to conclude that most history textbooks teach the heartwarming tale of brave little Helen Keller's struggle to communicate – and fail miserably to mention the adult Keller's struggles as a radical socialist and suffragette. Likewise, Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations is taught in history class, but his veto of a radical equity clause in the League's covenant is forgotten. Presidents are noble peacemakers, not virulent racists, and heroines do not espouse political viewpoints. Textbooks rarely cover the scandalous or most interesting aspects of history. Perhaps that's why, as professor Loewen asserts, "High school students hate history. Bor-r-ring is the adjective they apply to it," in his book, "Lies My Teacher Told Me." What's more, he continues, "African American, Native American, and Latino students view history with a special dislike, and learn history especially poorly." Yet outside school, Americans show great interest in history. From Ken Burn's "Civil War" to Gore Vidal's "Lincoln" and even "Gone With the Wind," history has the ability to spellbind audiences. What's gone wrong with history class? Loewen puts the blame on the average four-and-a-half pound, 888-page collection of bland optimism, blind patriotism and blatant misinformation commonly known as the American history textbook. Charlotte Haller, assistant professor of history at Drake University, assigns Loewen's book "Lies My Teacher Told Me" in both halves of the American history survey course she teaches. "Loewen does a wonderful job revealing the deeper stories and untold truths of American history," she said. "I have had overwhelmingly positive response to Loewen's book from students who appreciate his candor, engagement, and willingness to question of America's past." In Loewen's latest work, "Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong," he examines hundreds of national monuments, historical markers, museums, forts and other displays and finds many of them inadequate at best and profoundly wrong at worst. Loewen's lecture is sponsored by the Drake Honors Program and supported by the Hawley Foundation, which was established in 1927 by Des Moines businessman Henry B. Hawley and his wife, Carrie. For more information, call (515) 271-2999.